The Russian Public Television channel is being created to provide rapid, reliable and comprehensive information to citizens of the Russian Federation on the current developments in domestic and foreign policy, culture, education, science, spiritual life and other areas.
The Presidential Executive Office has been instructed to ensure the establishment of the Public Television Council within three months and to hold its first meeting. The Council’s main responsibility will be public oversight of the channel.
Members of the public and legal entities will submit their candidate nominations for the Council to the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The President will approve the Council’s members from the nominations submitted by the Civic Chamber.
The executive order stipulates that members of the Public Television Council shall be appointed for a term of five years and shall participate in its activities free of charge. Council members cannot include members of the Federation Council, State Duma deputies, members of the Civic Chamber, individuals holding public office or positions in Russian state bodies at federal, regional and municipal levels.
The Russian Government has been charged, in particular, to establish an autonomous non-profit organisation Russian Public Television, approve its charter, and ensure the establishment of its endowment to fund its activities, subsequently providing a public fund raising in accordance with the legislation on endowments of non-profit organisations.
Dmitry Medvedev also signed an executive order on including Russian Public Television in the list of mandatory free national television and radio channels.